LONDON (Reuters) - Two of the biggest donors to the Brexit campaign say they now believe the project they championed will eventually be abandoned by the government and that the United Kingdom will stay in the European Union.

Peter Hargreaves, the billionaire who was the second biggest donor to the 2016 leave campaign, and veteran hedge fund manager Crispin Odey told Reuters they expect Britain to stay in the EU despite their campaign victory in the 2016 referendum.

In a letter sent to European Council President Donald Tusk on Wednesday, Theresa May outlined her intentions to extend the Brexit deadline from March 29 to June 30. Mr Tusk alone cannot grant this - all 27 EU member states must agree. But in a crisis which deepens daily, there is no guarantee

GERMAN Chancellor Angela Merkel hinted the UK will leave the EU on March 29, but admitted she “cannot assess” the outcome of the European Council vote on Thursday, as “too many thing are still up in the air”.